Saturday, June 19, 2010

“Climbing temps boost danger for pets - Evansville Courier-Press” plus 3 more

“Climbing temps boost danger for pets - Evansville Courier-Press” plus 3 more

Climbing temps boost danger for pets - Evansville Courier-Press

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 05:50 AM PDT

The Evansville-Vanderburgh Animal Control Center receives three or four calls a day about people leaving their pets in hot cars, and one dog already has died this season.

- Don't leave pets unsupervised near a pool. Not all pets are good swimmers.

- If you shave your pet during the summer, make sure to leave at least an inch of hair. You don't want your animal to get sunburned.

- Be careful of hot concrete. The Vanderburgh Humane Society sees many burnt paws. When walking your pet, try to walk them on the grass. Also try to walk them in the morning or evening when it's cooler, and plan shorter routes so they don't overheat.

- Watch for signs of excessive panting, drooling, increased heart rate, weakness, collapse, diarrhea and vomiting. Your pet is vulnerable to heat stroke during the summer months. Call a veterinarian immediately if you think your pet is suffering.

- Never leave your pet alone in a parked car. Animal Control already has seen one death this summer. A car can heat up in a matter of minutes.

- And don't forget the basics. If you have to leave your pet outside, make sure to leave them with plenty of fresh water (one bowl probably won't be enough) and leave them in the shade.YOU GO>

It was in early May when Animal Control found the dog in a distressed state in the St. Mary's Medical Center parking lot. It was about 72 degrees that day, but the inside of the car is thought to have reached 120 degrees.

"I tell people that if they would be uncomfortable in a car, then their friend in a fur suit won't be (comfortable) either," said Monica Freeman, Animal Control superintendent.

Leaving an animal in a car when conditions are hazardous is a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third within a 12-month period.

"One woman said, 'But I left the windows cracked and left water.' I told her that it's too bad, it's (still) a health risk," Freeman said.

That particular woman left her two dogs in her car while she dined at a Bob Evans Restaurant.

"Once a dog's core body temperature reaches a certain temperature, there will be brain damage and their organs start to shut down," Freeman said. "They don't have thumbs to open the doors."

Tony Crothers, an Animal Control officer, performed a temperature test last week on a truck. When beginning the test, the inside was 89 degrees, and within 10 minutes it was 103 degrees. Ten minutes later, the inside of the vehicle was 115 degrees.

By noon that day, Crothers had taken three calls concerning animals left outside without water.

Crothers said he often hears the excuse that the dog knocks over their water bowl. He advises owners to leave out two bowls or chain the bowl down if necessary.

"When we walk outside and say, 'It's really hot out here,' your pet is saying the same thing," said Miranda Knight, Vanderburgh Humane Society public relations coordinator. "I think people have the mindset that it's just an animal, and it can live in any condition."

Although Animal Control receives many calls daily from neighbors about animals left in the heat, there are little things that even conscientious pet owners may overlook.

Knight often sees animals with burnt paws. She suggests walking dogs on the grass, not concrete, and if owners have to leave their pets on concrete, make sure it's in the shade.

Knight said the Humane Society might receive 20 calls a week from people concerned about a neighbor's dog. She refers them to Animal Control.

Sarah Brown, Evansville Police Department officer, receives an increase in pet safety calls during the summer and winter months.

Indiana law states that a dog must have water, Brown said. If officers find dogs without water, they can charge the owner with a city ordinance violation or charge them with animal neglect, Brown said.

"First and foremost is the health of the animal," Brown said. "We first decide if we need to take custody of the animal. Citations and charges come later."

Freeman said people often monitor a dog in a car for up to 15 minutes before they decide the situation is dangerous and call Animal Control. By then it's too late, Freeman said.

Once Animal Control reaches a car, they can't open the car themselves, but they can call the Police Department and instruct them to do so.

Freeman said she and her Animal Control officers have gone into businesses and asked to page owners of cars before calling the police.

Freeman said the biggest thing is simply to leave your pet at home and to know your dog. Older or overweight animals don't handle adverse conditions as well as others.

Animal Control once found a cat in a car trunk, Freeman said. The owner was at an auction, and witnesses said he put his Persian cat in the trunk.

"The biggest thing is don't do it," Freeman said. "If you can't bring your animal inside, don't bring them."

© 2010 Evansville Courier & Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Area hoarders surrender pets - The Keene Sentinel

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 07:37 AM PDT

In three incidents over the past two weeks, animal owners surrendered more than 100 dogs, cats and horses to the Monadnock Humane Society.

Stephanie S. Frommer, a state animal cruelty investigator and the director of field services for the Monadnock Humane Society, headed the investigations that led to the voluntary forfeiture of at least 80 cats, 25 dogs and eight horses from three different properties in Cheshire County.

Because the owners voluntarily gave up their animals, Frommer is withholding their names, towns of residence and other identifying information. No criminal charges are pending, though Frommer said the cases will remain open.

Like most hoarding cases, the conditions the animals were living in were closer to death than life, Frommer said.

Photos from the property with the 25 dogs show the floors covered in dried feces and garbage.

"It was appalling," she said of the home. "There were feces everywhere. You would have thought (the owner) had dirt floors."

That property had no electricity, the dogs had no easy access to water and little to no food, Frommer said.

"It was completely uninhabitable for man or beast."

A large hound had been confined to the basement so he wouldn't eat the smaller dogs because he was starving, Frommer said.

The property with the dogs had more than a dozen Schipperkes, Norwegian sailing dogs, various spaniels and other breeds that were all brought to the humane society in Swanzey. All but six of the older Schipperkes, ages 10 to 15, have been adopted with the help of Karen E. Myles, a local adoption coordinator for SchipperkeRescue.net, Frommer said.

The dogs were undernourished and some needed medical attention, Myles said. The older dogs are still at the shelter but ready for adoption, she said.

"A lot of people don't know this situation exists in New Hampshire," she said. Hoarding is "a very secret type of disorder."

When Frommer arrived at the home with more than 80 cats, she knew it was going to be a challenge.

"I knew when we pulled up to the house it was going to be bad," she said. "These aren't just slobs, they have a real disconnect with reality."

Most of the cats had ringworm and at least a dozen had calicivirus, an upper respiratory infection, she said. Although only a dozen showed symptoms of the virus, the cats had to be kept separate from other animals as each was a potential carrier.

"Oftentimes the cats can't be kept in the facility because of the possibility of spreading the very contagious virus," Frommer said. "Typically cats have to be quarantined for longer than 75 days because the virus can survive on the cat's fur."

The cats were taken to foster homes and to other organizations, such as the Upper Valley Humane Society and the New Hampshire Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which also took the eight horses from the third property. The horses had been left unattended after their owner was arrested on charges unrelated to his animals, Frommer said.

A pathological collection

Hoarding is the pathological need to collect animals without the ability to provide even minimal food, sanitation, shelter or veterinary care for them, according to Dr. Gary J. Patronek, a Boston veterinarian and a leading specialist on animal hoarding.

The neglect often results in starvation, illness and death, he said.

"Although (hoarders) may start out with good intentions and good actions like providing a safe place for animals, it's not about caring for animals but what the animals do to fill their human need," Patronek said.

Although it isn't clear why people become animal hoarders, new studies and theories link hoarding to personality disorders and other mental illnesses, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Patronek, author of the article "Hoarding of Animals: An Under-Recognized Public Health Problem in a Difficult-to-Study Population," which appeared in the journal Public Health Reports, said most hoarders have lost control of some aspect of their life and are replacing that loss of control with the animals' dependence.

Hoarders believe that no one can provide for the animals as well as they can, he said. They lack awareness and sympathy for the creatures they inadvertently torture.

"You can walk into these hell holes and they'll look at you dead in the eye, standing in two feet of feces, with dead animals all around and tell you nothing is wrong," Patronek said.

A November study by the Humane Society of the United States found that nearly 250,000 animals are victims of animal hoarding each year.

Cases of animal hoarding were first described nearly 40 years ago, said Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior vice president for forensic sciences and anti-cruelty projects for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. What has changed in recent years is that animal hoarding has been identified as a serious mental health problem, he said.

"The abuse differs from other types of animal cruelty in that the perpetrators don't always accept or recognize the cruelty they inflict on their animals," according to the National Humane Society.

The owner of the 25 dogs that were seized told Frommer that no one could take care of the animals as well as she could.

"She couldn't understand why we were taking the dogs and not giving her a second chance," Frommer said.

Although removing the animals from a hoarding situation can temporarily help, without a long-term psychological intervention, animal hoarding has a nearly 100 percent repeat offense rate, Patronek said.

"For any treatment to be successful, it must address root causes," he said. "The animals are a symptom, not a cause of the problem."

No charges were brought against any of the three owners but each case will remain open. If any of them end up hoarding animals again, having an open case against them makes the prosecution process much easier, Frommer said.

The legal options

According to Lockwood, even a small hoarding case can cost humane societies and public agencies thousands of dollars in legal fees and resources.

"Judges and prosecutors may not understand the severity of the problems or suffering unless they've physically been in the residence," he said. "Most of the time it takes the presence of dead animals to trigger prosecution."

The vague language in animal cruelty law can make it difficult to prove people are actually being cruel toward their animals, Patronek said.

"Cruelty laws weren't originally constructed to protect animals from lack of basic needs," he said. "The laws were created to prevent people from beating and over-using work horses."

Without specific language in the laws clearly defining substandard conditions for animals to live in, the prosecution of hoarders can be extremely difficult unless very obvious cruelty is taking place, Patronek said.

New Hampshire law addresses physical abuse such as cruelly whipping, negligent transportation, overworking of animals and negligently depriving animals of care, sustenance or shelter. The negligence charges can be very difficult to prove.

It comes down to showing the hoarder intended to cause harm to the animals, Patronek said.

"It's unfortunate but sometimes to prosecute (hoarders) there has to be a crime and a victim," he said.

Josh Stilts can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1433, or jstilts@keenesentinel.com


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No-kill shelters reporting surge in unwanted pets - Lafayette Journal and Courier

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 06:04 AM PDT

Staff at the Wildcat Valley Animal Clinic fielded a call this week from a man who wanted 12 kittens euthanized.

The answer was: No.

"I can't sleep at night and do that," said veterinarian Heather Baker, who owns the Wildcat practice. "We've gotten other calls from people saying, 'I don't know what to do with my dog. Can I just put it to sleep?' "

Tricia Schneider-Davis, who runs the Lafayette-area Pet Savers no-kill shelter, said there seem to be more such incidences in recent months. She blames the economic hardships some families are facing, but said there's also irresponsibility on the part of animal owners coming into play.

There are no state laws that dictate the circumstances for veterinarians to euthanize animals. The decision in most practices is left up to the vet.

Schneider-Davis recently took in a dog after Battle Ground veterinarian Paul Wittke refused to euthanize, or put to sleep, the animal. The mixed-breed dog is 2 years old and healthy, she said.

"The vets standing up for the lives of these animals need to be praised," she said.

Schneider-Davis was also contacted by the man looking to get rid of the litter of kittens one of his female cats recently had.

"This is a serious problem," she said.

Lafayette's Almost Home Humane Society was pressed by budget issues years ago and stopped taking in unwanted animals from pet owners. The facility only accepts strays now, but has also seen a rise in the number of abandoned pets left there.

Other shelters are experiencing similar problems, despite the fact that Lafayette punishes animal abandonment with a fine of up to $1,000. It's also punishable in West Lafayette by fines and shelter fees.

Baker said part of the solution to bringing down the population of unwanted pets is for owners to spay or neuter their dogs and cats.

Although the procedure can cost several hundred dollars at veterinarian offices, there are lower-cost options available. North Central Indiana Spay & Neuter offers the service at reduced rates -- $45 for cats and $90 or $115 for dogs -- through local veterinarian offices.

At the Pets and Vets as Partners clinic in West Lafayette, veterinarian Natalie Strode said there haven't been any recent incidences of pet owners seeking "convenience euthanasia."

"But we typically will not do that," she said. "That's in our code of ethics."

Schneider-Davis hopes pet owners remember a phrase from Abraham Lincoln, who she said was one of the earliest animal advocates.

"Every animal's life is as important to them as yours is to you."

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News of Record: Police Log, Pets - Bend Bulletin

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 03:55 AM PDT

Published: June 19. 2010 4:00AM PST

Police Log

The Bulletin will update items in the Police Log when such a request is received. Any new information, such as the dismissal of charges or acquittal, must be verifiable. For more information, call 541-383-0358.

Bend Police Department

Burglary — A burglary was reported at 5:26 a.m. June 17, in the 61200 block of Brookswood Boulevard.

Theft — A bicycle was reported stolen at 8:12 a.m. June 17, in the 400 block of Northeast Dekalb Avenue.

Criminal mischief — Damage to a vehicle was reported at 8:36 a.m. June 17, in the 61500 block of Tall Tree Court.

Theft — Items were reported stolen from a vehicle at 9:15 a.m. June 17, in the 61000 block of Springcrest Drive.

Theft — A wallet and camera were reported stolen at 10:37 a.m. June 17, in the 1000 block of Northwest Bond Street.

Theft — A bicycle was reported stolen at 10:43 a.m. June 17, in the 2600 block of Northwest Lemhi Pass Drive.

Theft — A theft was reported at 10:46 a.m. June 17, in the 600 block of Northwest Wall Street.

Theft — A wallet was reported stolen at 2:39 p.m. June 17, in the 900 block of Southeast Second Street.

Theft — Bicycles were reported stolen at 9:47 p.m. June 17, in the 600 block of Northeast Marshall Avenue.

Redmond Police Department

Theft — A theft was reported at 6 p.m. June 17, in the 900 block of Northwest 19th Place.

Vehicle crash — An accident was reported at 3:24 p.m. June 17, in the area of Northeast Ninth Street and Northeast Negus Way.

Criminal mischief — Damage to a vehicle was reported at 3:09 p.m. June 17, in the 3100 block of Southwest Pumice Avenue.

Criminal mischief — Graffiti was reported at 7:59 a.m. June 17, in the area of Southwest 25th Street and Southwest Volcano Avenue.

Criminal mischief — Damage to a vehicle was reported at 7:47 a.m. June 17, in the 800 block of Northwest Rimrock Drive.

Prineville Police Department

Unlawful entry — A vehicle was reported entered at 6:54 a.m. June 16, in the area of Southeast Holly Street.

Deschutes County Sheriff's Office

Theft — A theft was reported at 11:05 a.m. June 17, in the 16000 block of Strawn Road in La Pine.

Theft — A generator was reported stolen at 10:09 a.m. June 17, in the 9000 block of South U.S. Highway 97 in Redmond.

Oregon State Police

Vehicle crash — An accident was reported at 4:55 p.m. June 15, in the area of Tumalo Road and Old Bend Redmond Highway.

Vehicle crash — An accident was reported at 10 a.m. June 16, in the area of U.S. Highway 97 near milepost 168.

DUII — John Frederick Mellema, 28, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants at 4:52 p.m. June 16, in the area of U.S. Highway 97 near milepost 146.

DUII — Hope Elaine Leinbach, 62, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants at 11:40 p.m. June 17, in the area of Ash Road and Sixth Street in La Pine.

Pets

The following animals have been turned in to the Humane Society of the Ochocos in Prineville or the Humane Society of Redmond animal shelters.

You may call the Humane Society of the Ochocos — 541-447-7178 — or check the Website at www.humanesocietyochocos.com for pets being held at the shelter and presumed lost. The Redmond shelter's telephone number is 541-923-0882 — or refer to the Website at www.redmondhumane.org. The Bend shelter's Website is www.hsco.org.

Redmond

German Shepherd–Labrador Retriever mix — Older female, red, black and gray, red collar, found near Northwest Fir Avenue.

Australian Cattle Dog–Labrador Retriever mix — Adult male, black and blue merle, multi-colored collar; found near Maple Avenue and U.S. Highway 97.

Domestic medium haired cat — Kitten male, black; found near Southwest Canyon Drive.

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